DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The malware entered the North Carolina transmission plant's computer network via email last August, just as the criminals wanted, spreading like a virus and threatening to lock up the production line until the company paid a ransom.AW North Carolina stood to lose $270,000 in revenue, plus wages for idled employees, for every hour the factory wasn't shipping its crucial auto parts to nine Toyota car and truck plants across North America, said John Peterson, the plant's information technology manager.Manufacturers, government and financial firms are now the top targets globally for illicit intrusions by criminals, foreign espionage agencies and others up to no good, according to a report this spring by NTT Security.A survey of nearly 3,000 corporate cybersecurity executives in 13 countries last year by Cisco Systems Inc. found about one out of four manufacturing organizations reported cyberattacks that cost them money in the previous 12 months.Since 2015, U.S. manufacturers considered "critical" to the economy and to normal modern life, like makers of autos and aviation parts, have been the main targets of cyberattacks — outstripping energy, communications and other critical infrastructure, according to Department of Homeland Security incident response data.The threat of computer code tailored to hit specific targets has been around since researchers in 2010 discovered Stuxnet, malware apparently designed to sabotage Iran's nuclear program by causing centrifuge machines to spin out of control.

The New York insurance company that wrote policies for 800,000 questionable Wells Fargo auto loans has been dragged into the bank’s latest scandal. National General Insurance was named in a class-action lawsuit filed against the bank — for allegedly unduly profiting from $80 million in collateral protection insurance that the drivers didn’t need — and...